This guide has been written for two reasons. First, it was originally to help my own mother, who has commenced a study of ancient cultures as an adjunct to her Bible study, in order to get a more well-rounded historical picture of the cultures mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. Second, believing this could be useful for other history students, I have edited this into a study guide for others interested in doing research in this vein, for both secular and religious study of the Bible. It is my hope this proves valuable in that regard.
Aside from public domain documents, this guide will recommend no particular secular historical books. Most general world history texts and many secular studies of particular geographic areas mentioned below will be more than adequate for this purpose. I do not wish to prejudice anyone into believing only certain texts are ideal. I have outlined certain topics to do more in-depth study on for clarification of certain topics only touched on in the canonical scriptures accepted by most Christian denominations, should anyone wish to do even more deep study in any particular area.
Beyond this, I only recommend students of the Bible go into cross-referencing secular historical accounts with an open mind, taking into account the Bible was written from a very narrow POV focusing mainly on the Israelite experience, and that viewpoint is further narrowed by viewing all history through the lens of religious purity as demanded by the God of the Israelites and who later would include the Gentiles in a redemptive covenant. Secular histories may fill in more blanks on topics the Bible merely touches on but will obviously not have this moral bias coloring the focus, and may even suggest information that may appear to be a discrepancy with the Biblical account. I urge any serious history student, devout Christian or not, to keep this in mind, and weigh the secular accounts against the Bible. As a devout non-denominational Christian, my faith in the essential proof of the Bible has not been shaken by doing this, and for the sake of avoiding ignorance, even if you disagree with some of the conclusions of secular historians and their viewpoint, you should be willing to learn about them regardless, if only to hone your own arguments, especially should you wish to do more than merely study and enter into a serious career involving academic discussion or teaching of history and/or theology.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Bible, during the Old Testament, covers periods variously dated depending on the concept of either a "young" or "old" earth, according to some theologians. Secular historians typically discard this out of hand and place history along the commonly accepted BCE dating with a history dating back much further than either theory, bear this in mind if you are an adherent of either theory. Further, also bear in mind many secular historians believe the Biblical account contains numerous discrepancies with a more "objective" view of history, using archaeology and other sciences to attempt to falsify the record (as historians will do to suss out actual history from fabrications or distortions of the same), and they also believe the records presented by the Bible contain their own biases, which is admittedly true, given its narrow focus. If you are a Biblical literalist, do not take this personally. Finally, many historians believe, with varying degrees of justification, certain religious practices of non-Jewish or non-Christian origin had a profound impact on the development, direction, and character of the religious thought and doctrine espoused in the Bible. Again, this is nothing to take personally, and such is even mentioned as a common influence the Israelites were warned to be wary of in the Bible itself, so if the thought of this is religiously offensive, bear in mind even the Bible mentions this did occur to some degree even during the time in question.
Finally, please note I recommend the study of other pagan faiths and their practices relative to the cultures mentioned only for academic and intellectual purposes only. If one is to better understand why they were repulsive to the viewpoint of the Bible, anyone interested in the actual historical reasons why should be reasonably armed with an intellectual knowledge of their cross purposes with the faith espoused by the Biblical canon. My recommendation to study these pagan practices is merely for the purposes of being less ignorant of their history, origins, and context in regards to their conflict with the faith mentioned by the Bible, and is thus not to be taken as endorsement or promotion of their beliefs.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
I. Mesopotamia Studies
Mesopotamia should be the first place historically a Bible student should look into to gather the context of the origins of Biblical history. It is the region of this culture that what is acknowledged as the origin of many civilizations took place between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is from the city of Ur that the patriarch Abraham of all Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) all claim the common heritage, and many of its more well-known historical documents have an interesting parallel to later mentions in the Bible of practices relating to law and certain degrees of religious crossover in regards to certain events.
In general, the study of the civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, and ancient Babylon is integral to understanding the origins of recorded history in Western civilization, as well as provides vital context to understanding later studies of many Middle Eastern cultures, all of which have some basic heritage stemming from this one.
Two particularly interesting documents worthy of comparison to the Bible are "The Epic of Gilgamesh", which contains many mentions of the Great Flood mentioned in Genesis, and "The Code of Hammurabi", one of the earliest known recorded legal codes that have a high degree of overlap with the later law of Moses, recorded in the first five Books of the Bible, commonly called "The Books of the Law".
Both documents are in the public domain and easily be found in English translation for free on many sites.
II. Egyptian Studies
The society of the Egyptian culture descends in many ways from the Mesopotamian culture and knowledge of its latter Middle Kingdom period and the New Kingdom period is highly recommended for the understanding of Biblical events mentioned in Exodus to the end of the Books of Kings. Knowledge of the earlier history of Egypt (The Old Kingdom) is also vital for those wanting to understand many things, such as the concepts that formed the Egyptian religion and the impact the ten plagues of Egypt had on their civilization in terms of religion. A detailed study of their religion is helpful for greater context to its conflict with God as mentioned in Exodus.
Some historical comparison is drawn in particular to the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (also called Akneaten) and his unusual espousal of the form of monolatrism/monotheism that ran at cross purposes with his own people's polytheistic faith. Some scholars have drawn parallels between his beliefs and certain beliefs and concepts of the Israelites, though whether there is a direct connection is up for debate.
Generally, most historical dating of the people who became the Israelites dates back to the late Middle Kingdom era in the Book of Genesis, resumes in the New Kingdom era by the Book of Exodus, generally after the 200 or so year interregnum of the Hyskos people's invasion of Egypt between the Middle and New Kingdom periods.
III. Canaanite/Sea People Studies
The period from the latter parts of the Books of the Law, the Books of Joshua, and later, up until the end of the Books of Kings is heavily dependent on knowledge of this region, known as the history of the Sea Peoples, or those who established cultures due to migratory patterns to places along the Mediterranean Sea.
The various peoples of Canaan, the Edomites, Amalekites, the Philistines, the Assyrians, and others mentioned between the books of Exodus to the ends of the Book of Kings played a prominent role during this period. The study of the Hittite and Phoenecian peoples is also important to gathering proper context regarding this period of history in regards to their interactions with the Israelite culture.
Religious studies of this period should involve looking into the polytheistic worship of the Ba'als, Asherah, Dagon, and other Semitic cultural deities common during that time, and their interactions in terms of religious conflict and intermixture with the Israelites and their generally monotheistic practices.
IV. Neo-Chaldean (Babylon)/Persian Studies
The period after the ends of the Books of Kings, ranging from the period beginning with the Book of Daniel and continuing on through Ezra and Nehemiah, covers the period during the Babylonian captivity, the immediate overthrow of the Babylonians in exchange for the rule of the Medes and Persian cultures, and related further books about this period such as the Book of Esther concern this period of history.
The Babylonians are mentioned in the Books of Kings first and gain increasing prominence historically, especially during the Book of Jeremiah, written during the final days of the Kingdom of Judah, which had increasingly become a vassal state of Babylonians that was eventually utterly conquered and destroyed as mentioned in Kings. Other minor prophets who prophesied during the Books of Kings are also worth looking into, as their books historically took place during the Books of Kings and some into this period as well.
The Books of Chronicles are also worth reading and cross-referencing for further context on certain Israelite kings, mentioning further context omitted by the Books of Kings, though both cover generally the same periods.
While not directly covered by the Bible itself, research into the Babylonian and Persian religions may be helpful. Certain loanwords common in a modern religious discussion such as "sin" and "evil" were prominent in the Babylonian faith with different connotations. The Persian belief of Zoroaster and it's associated faith is also worth studying, given it has many concepts some historians believed influenced the Israelites' own beliefs, given both have a rather similar monotheistic outlook and other similarities.
V. Greco-Roman Studies
A several hundred years interregna take place after the Old Testament period, and the Bible resumes around 0 AD, otherwise known as the birth of Christ. The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) concern the period from 0-33 AD. The Book of Acts and all books stemming from that, such as the letters Paul wrote to the various Christian churches, this takes place from AD 34-60 AD. Further is not covered by the canonical Bible in terms of history.
Direct study of the Greek and Roman religions is helpful in understanding some of the religious conflicts (such as was mentioned the city of Ephesus in the Book of Acts) and the animosity of the Romans towards the Jews and any beliefs deriving from their culture.
It is worth noting that after the Old Testament period the Israelites had become known as the Jews, after Judea, the name the Romans gave the province that consisted of the biblical Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, a name they and their descendants would bear since. Later reading of Roman and Greek history (as the Romans had assimilated the Greeks and thus to study one is to study both) is essential to gathering knowledge of the formalization of the Christian faith into the organized form that succeeded the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
If one is Catholic, this is generally where they would include many of the letters, historical documents, and other canon generally accepted by the Catholic and similar traditions as canon. Even if the reader is not Catholic, it would be prudent to research many of these documents for important information beyond the scope of the period covered in the Bible. The Catholic faith and several other Christian traditions also consider the Apocrypha canon to the Bible. This "deuterocanon" is a series of books that are left out of some Biblical translations by some denominations due to doubt of their canonical status but are still worth researching regardless.
Any further records past the fall of the Western Roman Empire would proceed strictly from non-Biblical sources and other secular records and are totally beyond the scope of this study guide.
